Daytona 500
Bill Elliott lead the pack to the green flag but, quickly faded to back before the first round of pit stops. Sterling Marlin and Ward Burton combined to the lead 20 of the first 21 laps for Dodge. At lap 28, Rusty Wallace cut down a tire and was forced to pit under green. He sped on pit entry and was held for an additional 15 second penalty causing him to fall a lap down.
On Lap 47, just before green flag pit stops would have started, the 51 of Jeff Purvis got into the wall bringing out the first caution of the day. During the ensuing pit stops, Jimmy Spencer put the 26 Ford behind the wall to change the rear end (he returns to the track on lap 66), Terry Labonte gets some body work done to the front of the 5 car, and Mayfield picks up a penalty. Ward Burton was first off Pit Road and led the field back to the green on lap 51.
Coming to complete lap 73, Dale Earnhardt Sr. got a big run on the inside to attempt to grab the lead from then leaders Ken Schrader and Ron Hornaday Jr. and he squeezed by Hornaday despite being chased down towards the apron.
Green flag pit stops commence around 100-110. During this sequence, Ron Hornaday Jr., in the Conseco Pontiac for AJ Foyt and Kyle Petty in the Sprint Dodge both pick up drive through penalties; while Robert Pressley loses a lap due to slow stop. In addition, Casey Atwood has to make a second stop due to a loose lug but. When pit stops cycle through Mike Skinner, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jeff Gordon and Steve Park are among those leading the pack.
After lap 126, Skinner, Gordon, Earnhardt Sr., Marlin, and Earnhardt Jr. have all led laps since the green flag stops.
On lap 135, Matt Kenseth hits pit road to fix a broken shock. Dave Blaney also makes an unscheduled green flag stop the very next lap due to a broken crankshaft.
Lap 150 brings the final green flags stops. Sterling Marlin, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jason Leffler, Brett Bodine, and Ken Schrader are among the first to stop. Two
Laps later, when the bulk of the lead draft stops, Mike Skinner can’t get the Lowe’s Chevy back out and appears to have broke something in the drivetrain. On lap 157, just after most cars have stopped, Kurt Busch in the Roush Racing 97 drifts high exiting turn four and squeezes Joe Nemechek into at the start of the tri-oval, bringing out the second caution of the day. When the field caught the yellow, Sterling Marlin finds himself back at the front, however, it is discovered that he has a flat tire and is forced to pit as the field takes the green. The timing of the yellow allows Rusty Wallace and Robert Pressley to get back on the lead lap.
After the field took the Green, 2 separate packs emerged. The lead group included of Both Earnhardts, Steve Park, Ken Schrader, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Jeremy Mayfield, Ward Burton, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, and Tony Stewart. However within 10 laps, the second pack ran them down. On lap 167, Michael Waltrip is able to draft to the front of the pack. 2 Laps later Steve Park led a line including Jeff Gordon and Ken Schrader to the front. On the same lap, Robert Pressley makes an unscheduled pit stop under green. The very next lap Johnny Benson also hit the pits and the team confirmed he dropped 2 cylinders.
As the laps wind down, on the inside, Waltrip and both Earnhardts formed a drafting line with War Burton. They make a move to challenge the outside line of Park, Jeff Gordon, and Schrader. On lap 173, Robby Gordon gets a big run and turns Ward Burton around. Burton makes contact with Stewart which triggers the “Big One.” Cars taken out of the race due to damage include Bobby Labonte, John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Andy Houston, Tony Stewart, Ward Burton, Jason Leffler (who completes one lap under yellow before pulling into the garage), Mark Martin (who managed to complete 2 laps under yellow before pulling out), and Jerry Nadeau (who completes 3 laps before taking it to the garage as well). Steve Park, Rusty Wallace, Buckshot Jones, Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Jeff Gordon, also had considerable damage done to their cars. While, Kenny Wallace and Terry Labonte also attempted to soldier on but wound up pulling after shortly after the green came back out. Clean up from the wreck prompted NASCAR to put out the red flag. When the yellow comes back out, the remaining cars hit pit road and it’s Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Budweiser Chevy that exits first followed by Ricky Rudd, Earnhardt Sr., Waltrip, Mike Wallace, and Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin, Bobby Hamilton, Stacy Compton, and Jeremy Mayfield. The field took the green with 20 laps to go.
Sterling Marlin wastes no time and gets to front within 2 laps of green flag action. However, the very next lap, DEI teammates Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. line up with their boss and fellow Chevy drive Bobby Hamilton and they make an attack that gets all four in front of the number 40 Coors Light Silver Bullet. They manage to fend off attempts by Marlin, Schrader, and Rusty Wallace over the next 10 laps. With 3 to go, it’s still Waltrip, Earnhardt Jr., then Earnhardt Sr. Behind them, Schrader and Marlin are side-by-side with the remaining lead lap cars also 2-by-2 in tow. On the last lap, going down the back straight, Schrader and Marlin take Earnhardt Sr. 3 wide. As they head to the turn, Earnhardt Sr was in the middle and ahead by the whole front clip. To the inside is Sterling Marlin and Schrader is on the outside on even with the door of the GM Goodwrench 3. At the apex of the turn, Marlin pushed up the track. Behind them (point of deviation: as OTL Wallace took the middle behind Earnhardt Sr.) Rusty Wallace took the outside behind Schrader. Wallace’s move gave Schrader added momentum. Meanwhile, Marlin and Earnhardt touch. The contact cause the number 3 Chevy to break loose. Dale attempted to correct it and it chases him up the track. He careened into the engine and driver side of Schrader’s M&M’s Pontiac. Both head into the wall, sweeping Wallace and the Miller Lite Blue Deuce with them.
Meanwhile, Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. drive on in front to the checkered flag for DEI 1-2 finish. Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, and Mike Wallace avoid the Earnhardt/Schrader/Wallace accident to round out the top 5.
Finish | Driver |
1 | *Michael Waltrip |
2 | *Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
3 | Ricky Rudd |
4 | *Bill Elliott |
5 | Mike Wallace |
6 | *Sterling Marlin |
7 | Bobby Hamilton |
8 | Jeremy Mayfield |
9 | Stacy Compton |
10 | Joe Nemechek |
11 | *Dale Earnhardt Sr |
12 | Ken Schrader |
13 | Rusty Wallace |
14 | Robert Pressley |
15 | *Brett Bodine |
16 | Kyle Petty |
17 | Ron Hornaday Jr. (R) |
18 | Elliott Sadler |
19 | Jeff Burton |
20 | Casey Atwood (R) |
21 | Matt Kenseth |
22 | *Dale Jarrett |
23 | Ricky Craven |
24 | Terry Labonte |
25 | Kenny Wallace |
26 | *Mike Skinner |
27 | Jimmy Spencer |
28 | Johnny Benson Jr. |
29 | Buckshot Jones (R) |
30 | *Jeff Gordon |
31 | *Steve Park |
32 | Jerry Nadeau |
33 | *Mark Martin |
34 | Jason Leffler (R) |
35 | ^Ward Burton |
36 | Tony Stewart |
37 | Robby Gordon |
38 | Andy Houston (R) |
39 | John Andretti |
40 | *Bobby Labonte |
41 | Kurt Busch (R) |
42 | Dave Blaney |
43 | Jeff Purvis |
^ Led the most laps * Led at least one lap
Those who failed to qualify
37 - Derrick Cope
50 - Rick Mast
66 - Todd Bodine
71 - Dave Marcis
72 - Dwayne Leik (R)
80 - Morgan Shepherd
84 - Norm Benning (R)
85 - Carl Long (R)
90 - Hut Stricklin